Bottle-washing apparatus



(No Model.) v A. L. BERNARDIN'.

BOTTLE WASHING APPARATUS.

No. 332,582. Patented Dec. 15, 1885.4

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Wneer Inlet.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

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UNrrn c TENT rivier-O BOTTLE-WASHING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,582, dated December15, 1885.

Application filed February 18, 1885. Serial No. 156,275. (No model Toall whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, ALFRED L. BERNARDIN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Evansville, in the county of Vanderburg and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBottle-Tashing Apparatus, of which the following is a description.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved apparatus forcleansing the interior of bottles.

The leading feature of the invention is the projection of shot upwardinto the bottles, held inverted, simultaneously with the discharge ofwater into the same. The shot is projected by plungers that work invertical cylinders, or guides, and are forced upward by spring-hammersarranged horizontally and actuated intermittently by suitable mechanism.rIhe latter consists, preferably, of a series of cams fixed on arotating shaft, and arranged to engage with and depress the free ends ofthe spring-hammers at every rotation.

The invention embodies details of construction and combination of parts,as hereinafter described and claimed.

In accompanying drawings, Figure l is partly a sectional and partly anend view of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a detail horizontal section, andFig. 3 is a detail plan view. Fig. 4 represents the application of adevice for spreading the shot.

The letter A indicates one of aseries of metal sockets or holders forthe bottles to be cleaned. These holders are approximately bell orfunnel shaped, the larger end being uppermost, and are set vertical on atable, B, each over an opening in the latter. The base or lower end ofthe holders A is provided with a horizontal iiange, a., that rests onthe table and serves to support the former, and also with a boss orextension, b, that fits in said opening and is screw-threadedinternally, to adapt it for connection with the shot-plunger cylinder@,Whose upper end is correspondingly screwthreaded exteriorly. Ahorizontal flange, c, is formed on the cylinder C, and when the latteris screwed into the bottle-holder A such ange is pressed against theunder surface of the table B, around the edge of the opening therein.Thus both bottle-holder and plungercylinder are removably yet firmlysecured to the table. Water inlet and outlet tubes d e are attached tothe cylinder nearits upper end,'and on the lower side of theinlet-opening is formed a lip or upwardly-projecting flange that givesdirection to the water-current. The latter is produced by any suitablewaterimpclling device, or by connecting with the inlet a pipe leading toa water-reservoir having sufficient head for the purpose. The plunger Eworks freely in the cylinder C, and is cup-shaped on its upper side, toadapt it to hold all or a portion of the quantity of shot required to beprojected into the bottle at each reciprocation. The plunger has a stem,that projects through the bottoni of cylinder` C, and has a conical nutor head, g, secured on its lower end. The stemf is encircled by a spiralspring, h,whieh aids gravity in bringing the plunger E downward aftereach upwardmovement.

My preferred means for driving the plu ngers E upward are springs orspring-hammers F, which are secured in a bar, G, and arrangedhorizontally, so that the free end of each is directly beneath andnormally in contact with or adjacent to the head g of a plunger.Parallel to and directly in front of the free ends of the springs F is arotary shaft, II, on which are fixed a number of cams, I, one oppositeeach spring. The cams may be single or double, as required, but in thisinstance they are double, so that each spring F will be depressed andreleased twicein each revolution of the shaft H. I arrange the cams insuch order that they will act successively instead of simultaneously onthe springs F. The bar G is adapted to rotate in its bearings,andprovided at one end with a rigid arm, J, for shifting it around itsaxis, in orderlto throw the springs F downward out of range of contactwith cams I, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. l. This arm .I is locked toa rigid portion, i, of the frame-B in either of the two positionsrequired (for action or non-actiouf'of the appatus) by a pin or suitablecatch, j. In case the bottles should be provided with a stopper ofthekind illustrated in Fig. 1, it will cause the shot to diverge or spreadin their upward iiight; but for bottles having no such stopper I proposeto use a spreader,7 K, as shown IOO in Fig. 4. It is conicalin form onboth upper and under side, so as to cause divergence of the shot both inpassing upward and downward. It is attached to a stern or rod whoselower end is adapted for attachment at the ljunction of holder andcylinder C. Instead of the plunger working inside of the cylinder O, Imay make it hollow and arrange it eXteriorly so as to iit over thecylinder.

A gasket of rubber is in practice applied on the upper end of thecylinderO, which forms a support or shoulder for the bottlenozzle.

Ihe operation ol' the apparatus is as fol` lows: The bottles it isdesired to clean being placed in the holders A, as shown in Fig. l, theshaft H is set in rotation, and its cams I successively engage with andbear down the free ends of the spring-hammers F, which, on beingreleased, deliver a smartand sudden blow upon the heads g of theplungers E, and drive the latter upward with such force and rapiditythat, when arrested by the spiral springs h, the shot held in theircavities is projected into the bottles and against the bottoms thereof.So soon as the blow of the spring-hammer has been given, the latterresume their normal horizontal position, the shot also fall back intothe plunger-cups, and the plungers themselves drop back to the bottom ofthe cylinders C, all in readiness to repeat the operation.Simultaneously with these movements water is being constantly forced upinto and discharged from the bottle, asindicated by arrows.

1. In a bottle-washing apparatus, the colnbination, with a bottle-holderand a cylinder or plunger-guide placed below the latter, of areciprocating plunger containing a quantity of shot and having aprojecting` stem, substantially as shown and described, to operate asspeciiied.

2. In a bottle-washing apparatus, the combination, with a bottle-holder,of a reciprocating plunger, a quantity of shot, and a device,substantially as described,` for forcing the plunger upward,substantially as specified.

3. In a bottle-washing apparatus, the combination of a spring-hammer andtrippingcam with reciprocating plunger, the guidecylinder, and a bottleholder or support, substantially as specied.

4.. In a'bottle-washing apparatus, the combination of the funnel-shapedinverted bottleholder, the cylinder pendent beneath it, the shot-forcingplunger having a stem, f, having head g, a spiral spring encircling saidstern, a spring-hammer arranged horizontally, and a tripping-cam,substantially as specified.

5. In a bottle-washing apparatus, the cylinder having the water-inletwith upwardly, projecting flange or lipand a water-outlet and theshot-forcing plunger working in said cylinder, all arranged as shown anddescribed.

6. In a bottle-washing apparatus, the combination of the plunger, maderecessed or cupshaped, the cylinder for guiding the same, andabottle-holder, as shown and described.

7. In a bottle-washing apparatus, the combination ofthe spring-hammerswith the cam-- shaft, a rotatable bar for holding the harn` mers, and adevice, substantially as described, for locking it in differentpositions, substan-y tially as specified.

ALFRED L. BERNARDIN.

Vitnesses:

AMos W. HART, SoLoN C. KEMON.

